Wedding Party
by Rory Maria
Summary: When Lucy's close friends, Bisca and Alzack, finally tie the knot, Lucy is asked to be a bridesmaid. This is how she meets Natsu, her paired groomsman that quickly becomes much more…
1. Chapter 1

Hiking her long, silk dress up as she walked, Lucy sighed. The wedding was starting soon, and she hadn't yet met the man that was supposed to accompany her down the aisle. At the rehearsal dinner the night before, Bisca had explained that the groomsman paired with Lucy was having trouble getting to them

"He just has problem with...transportation. He tries to only travel by train since that's easiest for him, but the train station here has been shut down due to a bomb threat. He's trying to catch a last minute plane, but we're not sure if he'll make it in time for the wedding. You might have to walk by yourself," Bisca had said, sympathetic worry lines creasing her forehead. Lucy had only sighed in response. It seemed that her luck with men rolled onto luck with groomsmen as well.

This morning though, Bisca had happily informed her that her partner arrived early that morning and was all set to walk her down the aisle, which was a huge relief to Lucy. She would have been totally embarrassed to have to walk alone. Her relief quickly turned to anxiety though. She'd never met this man, didn't even remember what his name was, and he hadn't been at the rehearsal. What if something went wrong?

Those were Lucy's thoughts as she stood around in the back of the church with the rest of the wedding party. She forced herself to refrain from biting her freshly done nails when she glanced over at the loud huddle of groomsmen, trying to figure out which one was supposed to be her partner. All she had to do was spot the one that hadn't been there at rehearsals, right?

It didn't prove to be a hard task. Lucy's eyes quickly fell on a head of bright pink hair, and traveled down to the face it belonged to. Her eyes widened when she took in his sharp features and slanted eyes - _he was cute._ Suddenly, as if she had spoke his name, his eyes snapped towards hers and his expression dropped. He eyed her with a slightly startled look before he broke into a smile and waved at her. Lucy shyly waved back.

"Oh, Lucy! I want you to meet your partner, Natsu," Bisca said, coming up from behind her. Quickly wrapping a lace covered arm around Lucy's shoulders, the green haired woman walked her closer to the groomsmen. Natsu met them halfway, still smiling. "Lucy, this is Natsu Dragneel. Natsu, this is Lucy Heartfilia."

"Yo," Natsu said in greeting, holding out his hand for Lucy to shake. With a smile on her face, Lucy accepted the gesture by sliding her small hand into his rough one, giving it a small shake.

"It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Natsu replied, and if it were even possible, his smile grew a little more. When Lucy's smile began to mirror his expression, Bisca laughed and threw an arm around Natsu's shoulders. She faced Lucy, still embracing the boy.

"Natsu is a really close friend of mine and Alzack's. He's helped us out more times than we can count. We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for him."

Lucy watched as a light blush colored Natsu's cheeks and he ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck. This only caused Bisca to laugh before music started to sound through the back doors.

"Oh! Okay, everyone, get in line! And remember: count to five before following the couple in front of you," Erza stated, taking her place in the back of the line. The couples all lined up in order, Natsu pausing to follow Lucy's lead.

"You're gonna have to lead me here. I have no idea what I'm doing. Never been to a wedding," he whispered to her quickly. Lucy merely nodded, looking straight ahead at the couples that were quickly disappearing down the aisle.

"Don't worry, I'll make us look good," Lucy promised, not thinking about her wording until she heard Natsu chuckle and mumble "No doubt about that" under his breath. When they finally walked down the aisle together, Lucy was sure her cheeks were as pink as her partner's hair.

After the actual wedding was over, Lucy and Natsu parted ways after walking back down the aisle together one last time. He'd laughed at her when he noticed tears falling from her eyes, but offered her a cloth from his inside pocket nonetheless. Lucy, of course, had called him heartless for _not_ crying. Bisca and Alzack had written their own vows and Lucy was sure nothing she would ever write would compare to them at all. Natsu only gave a playful roll of his eyes and called her a weirdo.

"See you at the reception?" Natsu asked, walking in the opposite direction from the limousine that was to take the wedding party straight to the hall. Lucy's eyebrows furrowed.

"You're not coming with us? The whole wedding party is supposed to go and help finish setting up," Lucy explained, thinking that maybe since he'd arrived late he wasn't in on all the details. Natsu only shook his head.

"Since I literally only had time to drop my bags off before getting my ass dragged here by Gray, Alzack told me I could head back to my hotel for a nap. The reception's gonna last all night, I don't wanna have to leave early." Natsu flashed Lucy a grin that made her chest tighten, but she recovered quickly enough to send a smile back at him.

"Okay then. Rest well! I'll see you later." Lucy waved before turning around to join the rest of the wedding party.

Natsu smiled to himself, watching Lucy take a few steps away from him. After a moment, he turned around and headed back to his hotel.


	2. Chapter 2

The reception was in full swing, and Lucy couldn't stop herself from periodically searching the hall for a pink head of hair. He'd gone back to his hotel to sleep hours ago, there was no way he was still asleep right? No one could sleep through their friends' wedding...could they?

It dawned on Lucy at that moment that she didn't really know Natsu, she had no idea if this was something he would do. The realization caused a frown to form on Lucy's lips, though she didn't know why. Still... _he'd said he'd see me at the reception,_ and somehow Lucy didn't think he was the kind of guy to go back on his word.

"Who you lookin' for?" a gruff voice asked, sitting down at the table specifically for the wedding party.

Lucy looked up to see Gajeel taking the seat next to her, Levy sitting on his other side. The bluenette leaned forward to peak at Lucy around her boyfriend. They both were awaiting her response.

"No one," Lucy mumbled, her gaze dropping to the floor. She hadn't thought she'd been that noticeable with her searching.

Gajeel gave a scoff at that. "Yeah right, blondie, you've been scannin' the crowd all night. You won't even get off your ass to dance, which is why Shrimp keeps makin' me dance with her instead."

"Hey!" Levy frowned, smacking Gejeel's arm with all her force - which still wasn't enough to hurt him. "You should dance with me, I'm your _girlfriend_!" The man only crossed his arms and looked away with a grunt.

"Well this table looks cheery!"

Lucy's face instantly snapped upward when she heard the familiar voice. Natsu was standing next to her, his smile as wide as ever. She couldn't help but smile back at him in response.

"Hey Gajeel," Lucy could hear Levy saying, though she didn't dare look away from Natsu's smiling face, "Let's go see what Jet and Droy are doing!"

"Ugh, do we have to hang out with those losers?" Gajeel responded, and Lucy didn't hear any sign of him moving to get up.

"They're my friends! Let's just go, you grump!"

Lucy saw the couple pass her just as Natsu moved to take Gajeel's seat.

"So, I take it I missed dinner?" he asked, laughing sheepishly as he ran a hand through his pink hair. Lucy smiled softly.

"I actually saved you a plate," Lucy admitted shyly, slowly pulling a covered plate out from underneath a napkin. She slid it over to Natsu who was eyeing the plate of food like it was an oasis in the middle of a desert.

"Thanks, you're the best, Lucy!" Natsu said before animatedly digging into his food.

Lucy's smile widened as she watched him eat, and after a moment of trying to hold it in, a giggle escaped her lips. When Natsu's curious gaze lifted to meet her, she could see clearly how puffed out his cheeks were due to being overfilled with food. And that's when she lost it.

"Eh?" Natsu grunted, causing a little bit of the mash potatoes in his mouth to spray out, landing on Lucy's arm. The boy's face turned bright red when he realized what he'd done, but Lucy only laughed harder.

"Could you fit any more food in your mouth?" Lucy asked between laughs, casually wiping her arm with a random napkin.

Swallowing his food, Natsu gave Lucy one of his signature grins. "'Course I could! But I'm a gentleman, gotta keep it classy!" His response earned another wave of laughter from Lucy, and he eyed her fondly. Natsu decided that he very much liked the sight of Lucy laughing, and told himself that he would make her laugh any chance he got.

The two stayed at the table talking while Natsu finished eating. When he was done, he made a joke about how he was so bloated he'd need Lucy to roll him back to his hotel. She wasn't having that though; she'd been waiting for him during the beginning of the party and didn't dance. Lucy refused to waste the rest of the night sitting down.

"No! Come on Natsu, dance with me," Lucy smiled, standing up and tugging on Natsu's arm. He groaned but followed her to the dance floor anyway.

Suddenly, the two found themselves surrounded by bodies. The rest of the wedding party as well as all of the guests were crowded around them, dancing along to the same beat. Lucy smiled at Natsu before turning around to dance with Levy, who was overjoyed that her best friend had finally joined her on the dance floor. Gajeel, surprisingly, wasn't as much fun as Lucy was.

When Lucy was pushed back against Natsu by the ever moving crowd, he automatically wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her even closer to him. Eyes widening in surprise, Natsu stared at where their bodies met at his waist, wondering why he'd done that. He looked up when Lucy shot him a friendly smile, though, and he realized she didn't think anything of it. Natsu felt himself sigh in relief over that. He let himself relax as his body started to grind against Lucy's to the beat of the song blasting through the speakers.

The rest of the night went similarly to this. Natsu and Lucy never left each other's side on the dance floor, and only broke apart when their friends started to dance between them. Still, they made constant eye contact and never failed to send each other smiles. At some point, the dance floor stilled when a slow song came on, and many people took the chance to sit down and take a break from dancing. Lucy didn't want to be one of those people, but since most of her friends were coupled up, she didn't have anyone to dance with.

Natsu sensed her hesitance to leave the dancefloor, and held in a groan. He hated slow dancing more than anything else, but he'd feel bad if he just left Lucy hanging like this. Silently, Natsu took her hand in his and pulled her close to his body, wrapping an arm around her waist in the process. He grinned down at the stunned face of the blonde.

"You don't have to do this," Lucy mumbled, her cheeks tinting ever so slightly pink. Natsu only shook his head in response.

"I wanna. I like spending time with you," he admitted, surprising himself more than Lucy. After her shock wore off she smiled, meeting his eyes even though she was blushing.

"Me too."

Lucy's smile faltered when Natsu gave her a wicked grin. She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to figure out what he was up to. Throughout the night, Lucy had realized that Natsu was always up to something.

"Dare me to lift you up?" he asked, bending his head so that he whispered directly into her ear. Lucy held in a shiver and shook her head.

"No way! I don't want to fa -"

Lucy's words were cut off by Natsu's laughter as he moved both arms around her waist. He easily lifted her up - ignoring her nervous squealing - and spun her around. Lucy was sure the movement was very ungraceful, and her shrieking probably didn't help, but when he set her back down to the ground they were both laughing.

"Again?" Natsu asked, but this time Lucy made sure her head shake was firm.

"Absolutely not," she stated in a hard tone, as if she were disciplining a child. They both erupted into laughter again.

Lucy felt a little disappointed when the night finally ended. The wedding party stayed behind to help clean up the hall, and Natsu had left Lucy's side when the guys made it a game to see how many tables they could fold up. When Natsu won he excitedly looked towards Lucy, who only laughed at how proud he looked. It was like watching a child.

Meanwhile, Lucy and the rest of the bridesmaids were folding up tablecloths and putting away decorations. The girls mindlessly chattered about different things that happened throughout the day until Levy gave Lucy a sly grin, and brought up a certain pink haired man.

"What about Natsu?" Lucy asked, trying to sound casual although she knew her cheeks were probably heating up a little.

"Oh come on! You were waiting for him earlier, you wouldn't even dance with me - and you saved him a plate of food. Who does that?!" Levy giggled, and the rest of the girls joined in too.

"That does sound pretty suspicious Lucy. I think you guys would look cute together," Mira said, sighing with that far off look in her eyes. Lucy only shook her head.

"It's not like that! I knew he hadn't eaten yet since he went straight to the wedding, so I saved him a plate of food. I would have done it for any of you, and you know that," she huffed, folding the tablecloth in her hands with a little more attitude than necessary.

At her words, Erza nodded. "That's true. You probably would do that for any one of us -"

" _Thank you_ Erza!" Lucy interrupted, sighing in relief. At least someone understood her.

"- But that doesn't explain why you guys were dancing like that," Erza finished.

Lucy's face dropped. Apparently, she'd spoken too soon. "What do you mean? We were just dancing…"

"More like grinding! Did he get hard from that? I bet he did, you've got a pretty nice ass," Cana commented from where she stood to Lucy's left, cleaning off some champagne glasses. Lucy visible flinched at her accusation.

"W-what?! No way! Everyone dances like that, guys, it's totally friendly!"

Lucy paused when all of the girls around her stilled and looked at her with blank faces. She was about to asked them what was wrong when Levy's hesitant voice broke the awkward silence.

"Lu, we've known Natsu since we were kids. He never dances, especially not like that," the bluenette said, causing Lucy's cheeks to blush again. She hadn't thought anything of the dancing, but now…

"And he definitely never slow dances. Like ever," Cana added, going back to cleaning off the cups.

Lucy gulped, and looked over to where Natsu stood, picking a fight with Gray. "Yeah, well. It's not like I'll ever see him again. I have no idea where he lives."

Cana snorted at the same time Levy let out a small giggle. Lucy turned her curious gaze back to her friends, raising her eyebrow in a silent "what?".

"Natsu didn't tell you? You two live in the same city; he's from Magnolia," Erza explained.

"No...he didn't," Lucy mumbled, once again looking over at the pink haired man she'd just met. Like the first time she laid eyes on him, Natsu seemed to sense her glance and turned his head in her direction. He grinned, and waved at her enthusiastically. Lucy only smiled back.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Lucy woke in the hotel room she was sharing with Levy. She sighed and stretched before getting up, not liking the fact that this would be her last morning here. The hotel service was a nice break from living on her own; Lucy got to enjoy other people cooking and cleaning for her. But now she was on her way back to the real world.

Before she entered the bathroom to get ready for the day, Lucy checked her phone and smiled when she saw a message from Natsu.

 _Mornin Lucy! Have a safe trip home to Magnolia today! :D_

Lucy smiled at her screen. When they were leaving the reception hall the night before, Lucy had accused Natsu of keeping secrets from her, since he'd never mentioned they lived in the same city. He'd playfully gone along with it, begging for her forgiveness after claiming he hadn't known she lived there either.

Closing the door to the bathroom, Lucy stuck her toothbrush into her mouth before quickly typing a response.

 _You too! Are you catching another plane back?_

She didn't check her phone again until she'd finished brushing her teeth and washing her face.

 _Nahhhh lol the trains are running again so I'll be taking one of them home. You flyin?_

Lucy tried not to acknowledge the disappointment building in her chest. She'd kind of been hoping to spend the way home with Natsu; plane rides are boring when you're alone. Walking out of the bathroom, Lucy replied unenthusiastically.

 _Yeah, plane rides are faster and I hate traveling for long._

 _Wanna have a race to see who gets home faster? :))_

A breathy laugh escaped Lucy's lips as she read Natsu's response. Of course he would make a game out of this.

 _What does the winner get? :)_

After sending the message, Lucy sat on the edge of her bed, waiting for his response. It took a few moments for her phone to ding again.

 _The pride of being a winner?_

 _Lame_ , Lucy typed and sent quickly. Then as an afterthought, _I'm not gonna race you if that's all I'm gonna win._

 _Oi! Who says you're gonna win?!  
_ _Ok then winner gets to make the loser do one thing of their choice_

Lucy laughed at the two texts Natsu sent her. Logically, Lucy knew that the plane would arrive at Magnolia before any train would. She was surprised Natsu didn't know this, or maybe he did and just had too much blind faith in himself. Rolling her eyes, Lucy sent:

 _That's better. I'll race you for that. My plane leaves in an hour and I have to finish packing now. Talk to you later!_

She threw her phone onto the hotel bed before waiting to read Natsu's reply. She really did need to pack, the last thing Lucy wanted was to miss her flight. As much as she'd love to spend more time with Natsu, trains were not her thing. They took way too long and didn't run as smoothly as planes. She only tolerated them for short distances, not the three hours it would take to get back to Magnolia.

Lucy didn't look at her phone again until she was at the airport waiting in line to get on the plane. As expected, all of her friends had sent her wishes of safe traveling, and she returned them all. She smiled especially hard at Natsu's messages.

 _Talk to ya when I'm back at Magnolia_  
 _Since I'll be there first_  
 _:D_

Lucy simply shook her head and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. As if he'd win this race. While she waited, Lucy started to think of things she could make Natsu do after she won.

* * *

As expected, Lucy arrived in Magnolia first. She couldn't keep the smug smirk off of her face as she left the plane and realize Natsu hadn't texted her his victory yet. The other passengers must have thought her weird since she was grinning at her phone like an idiot as she wrote a message out to him.

 _Guess who got to Magnolia first! Looks like you'll have to do whatever I say :)_

Giggling a little with giddy joy, Lucy stuffed her phone into her pocket. She knew Natsu was still on his way home, so she didn't expect a reply from him right away. In the meantime, Lucy gathered her bags and headed back towards her rented home. She managed to finish unpacking in record time, and even straightened her home up a bit before finally crashing on her sofa. She didn't get it. Why hadn't Natsu responded?

It was nearing dinner time now, and Lucy hadn't heard from the pinkette since that morning. She'd constantly checked her phone since arriving home, taking breaks from unpacking and cleaning just to stare at a blank lock screen. Bisca had said that he had trouble with traveling, maybe he was still sick? Lucy chewed on her bottom lip. She hoped that was the problem.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the wedding, and still, Lucy had yet to hear from Natsu. She'd texted him a couple more times just asking if he was okay, but he never responded to any of her messages. Every now and then she would go over their time together, wondering what she'd done wrong that turned him off to her. But Lucy couldn't think of a single thing.

 _So why is he ignoring me?_ Lucy thought as she stood in front of her stove, cooking dinner for herself. Suddenly, her phone went off and she glanced over at where it laid on the kitchen counter. The number calling her wasn't one she had saved. Thinking that maybe it could be one of the volunteer services she'd recently signed up for, she answered it on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Yo!"

Lucy's eyes widened and she stopped breathing. That was, without a doubt, Natsu's voice. She felt a little creeped out, considering she'd just been thinking about how he was ignoring her and now he was calling her. It was like he could sense her thoughts or something.

"Natsu?" she finally asked, realizing she hadn't responded yet. Her voice came out higher than usual, and she sounded like she was out of breath. Lucy hoped Natsu wouldn't notice.

"Hey, Luigi!" his ever cheerful voice said, and Lucy's shock quickly turned to annoyance.

"It's Lucy, stupid!" she reprimanded, placing a hand on her hip even though she knew he couldn't see it. Her anger melted at the sound of his chuckles coming through the phone.

"Oh yeah! I forgot," Natsu laughed again, and Lucy couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "Sorry I haven't been in contact. I was so sick when I got off the train that I accidentally left my phone on my seat. I had to wait until now to afford a new one. Got your number from Bisca, hope ya don't mind."

"Nah, that's fine," Lucy said quickly, paying close attention to what was cooking on her stove. Her voice must have sounded distracted because Natsu asked her if she was busy. "Nah, just making dinner."

"Ohh, food. What cha makin'?"

Lucy could almost heard Natsu's entire body perk up at the mention of food, and she giggled to herself, stirring the pot on her stove. "I'm making curry."

"Mmm, I love curry. Spicy foods are my favorite," Natsu cooned, sighing into his end of the phone. Lucy smirked to herself, adding a few more things to the pot.

"I don't know, I make some pretty mean curry, Natsu," Lucy said, her smile almost evil. Her friends couldn't stand to eat her curry since it was way too spicy to handle. So far, she was the only person they knew that could stomach it.

"Does it say rude stuff and tell you how much of a disappointment you are for breaking your diet for the third week in a row?" Natsu asked in return. Although the joke was super lame, Lucy couldn't help but bend over slightly with the force of her laughter. For some reason, she found it hilarious.

"No, stupid!" Lucy said, still laughing a little. "It's just super spicy. No one but me has been able to handle it. I'm not sure if anyone else ever will."

"I bet it's not that bad," Natsu said with a bored voice, and Lucy shrugged out of reflex, knowing he couldn't see her.

"Why don't you come over and find out then," she offered, absentmindedly stirring the pot. There was a slight pause on the other end, but Lucy didn't take back her offer.

"Seriously?" Natsu asked, his voice seeming uncharacteristically hesitant. Lucy nodded while she spoke.

"Yeah. There's enough for two people. Plus, I won our race, so I get to make you do something right?"

"Whoa - whoa!" Lucy listened to Natsu huff out an incredulous sigh as she turned off her stove. "Who said you won?"

At that, Lucy leaned against her counter, all of her strength leaving her. Was he really that dumb? Maybe.

"Natsu," Lucy said, speaking slowly as if to a child, "There's no way a train would get here before a plane. That's the whole reason people take planes, so they can get places faster."

"Not necessarily," Natsu countered, his voice taking on a challenging edge. Lucy was intrigued by it.

"Oh?" she prompted, raising her eyebrows and crossing her free arm over her chest.

"Yeah. Like, what if my train left before your plane? Then it would have gotten there first!"

Lucy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "But your train didn't leave before my plane. I specifically remember you wanting to hang out before we left, which meant that you had time before you had to get on your train." Lucy started to feel embarrassed for remembering such a small detail. It was obvious Natsu hadn't, and she felt dumb for letting her anger reveal how attached she was to her memories of the boy.

"But what if my train did leave before your plane? It would have gotten there first, so you're still wrong," Natsu continued to argue without missing a beat. Lucy stared blankly at the wall of cabinets in front of her. Natsu's logic made absolutely no sense, but there was no use in continuing the argument.

"Fine! Since we can't know for sure who got here first, then we both win."

"Ehh, I don't really like ties," Natsu's bored voice sounded in Lucy's ear, making her eye twitch in annoyance.

"Well too bad! Because we're in one. So now we both get to make each other do something, and I'm making you come over for dinner right now," Lucy stated proudly, straightening her shoulders with a wide grin on her face. She was happy that Natsu couldn't see her right now - he would think she was totally weird.

Natsu gave a genuine chuckle on the other end of the phone, and Lucy's smile softened at the sound. "You're such a weirdo Lucy, wastin' your one order on something I was totally gonna do anyway."

"Eh?" Lucy mumbled, her face dropping. She hadn't thought of that. Maybe she should have saved it and made Natsu do something else… "Well if you were going to come over anyway it doesn't count."

"No way!" Natsu was quick to say, a smile clear in his voice. "No take backsies, Lucy! Anyway, gimme your address, I'll be over in a little."

Lucy sighed in annoyance even though a smile once again held her expression captive. Natsu can be such a child, she thought, hanging up so that she could text him her apartment number. As soon as the message was sent, she locked her phone and stared dumbly down at the blank screen.

After weeks without talking to him, she was just moments away from having dinner with Natsu Dragneel.


End file.
